Flash Bracket

[Ollokot]

Hi Folks,
My baby sister's fiftieth birthday is coming up soon and her offspring asked if I could take some photos of the occasion. I would like to get the flash off camera some bit and was thinking of using a Human flash bracket but don't want to interupt anybobdies festivities. Due to being financially embarrassed at this present moment in time I was wondering if there is a resonably priced bracket out there that would do the job.
Camera equipment will be a Canon 50D with a 580x 11 Flash.
Thank you for your time, Best Wishes, Pat.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Pat,

How do you plan to trigger the 580ex II off camera?

[Markvetnz]

The cheapest is called a hand.

[Ollokot]

Hi Colin,
I plan to trigger the flash with a flash cord.

[Ollokot]

Hi Mark.
The Hand would definitly be the cheapest alas I had a bad injury to my left hand and wrist many years ago while working as a fisherman, consequently I'm unable to hold anything with it for a prolonged length of time.
Best Wishes, Pat.

[Hansm]

What about this one: http://www.dembflashproducts.com/

[rpcrowe]

I use a Stroboframe camera flip bracket and trigger my flash with an off-camera cord (although indoors, I could just use the Canon 7D camera's built-in flash as a trigger).

I purchased my Stroboframe off-camera bracket, used, for less than fifteen U.S. dollars on eBay USA.

It provides very good light when I bounce my flash and modify the flash with a Joe Demb Flash Diffuser Pro ( www.dembflashproducts.com ). Here are some samples of lighting with the above rig...

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Portraits...320241&k=7kTXJ

You could, for economy sake, fabricate a flash diffuser/reflector like this one. However I far prefer the Demb unit...

http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/

I looked through eBay UK and this was the first Camera Flip Bracket I found. It is a Chinese copy of the Stroboframe...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quick-Flip...item3a6d19f6f5

There are also similar flash brackets (both Stroboframe and Chinese copies) which are flash-flip models. I don't like the flash flip bracket since I always bounce my flash. When a flash is bounced with a flash flip bracket, you need to reorient the direction of the flash when switching from landscape to vertical configuration...



When using a camera flip bracket, the bounced flash remains in the correct position for both horizontal and vertical shots...



There are two variations of the Stroboframe camera flip bracket. One has a flash bar that also flips (above) and the other has a solid non-moveable flash bar. I prefer the model with the solid flash bar because I tend to carry the unit around by holding the flash bar as a handle and it is easier to do that with the non-moving flash bar such as this. I replaced my bracket with one that has a solid bar and I really like the change...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stroboframe-...item35bcaf9af3

[DanK]

I don't often use a bracket, but when I do, I use a Demb bracket, along with a Demb Flip-It bounce card. The Demb bracket is small, lightweight, and very easy to use. You can check it out here: http://www.dembflashproducts.com/bracket/. He sells directly, but some retailers (at least, B&H) sell his stuff too.

[Ollokot]

Many Thanks Hans, Richard, and Dan for your informative replies, I will look in to your suggestions.
Best Wishes. Pat.

[Markvetnz]

Hi Mark.
The Hand would definitly be the cheapest alas I had a bad injury to my left hand and wrist many years ago while working as a fisherman, consequently I'm unable to hold anything with it for a prolonged length of time.
Best Wishes, Pat.

Pat

Sorry to hear that, but I wasn't talking about your hand. Get someone else to hold it for you.

[Ollokot]

Hi Mark,
Sorry about my misunderstanding, yes it would be the best option to get someone to hold the flash for me however it would restrict my freedom to get some candid shots.
Thanks again Best Wishes, Pat.

[Manfred M]

Like Richard, I occasionally use the Stroboframe. I generally use it when I plan to do a lot of portrait format shooting and I don't like the side-mounted flash but prefer the flash above the camera. I just like the light distribution better that way, and I can use the built-in card on my SB-900.

I will either use a cable or the camera's Commander Mode to fire the slave on the Stroboframe.

[Kris V]

What about this one: http://www.dembflashproducts.com/

Thanks for the link!